Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Is Coaching an Art or a Craft?

Although I have been a mentor and informal coach most of
my life, I have practiced professional life coaching with clients for about
five years now. During that time, I have built on my inherent gifts of
encouraging and relating by adding professional training and observed coaching experiences.

As I talk with other coaches, a common conversational topic
is whether life coaching is an intuitive gift or is something that a person can
be taught. Is coaching something a
person is gifted to do or can it be learned?
In short, is coaching an art or a craft?

A craft originates in the left brain, the cognitive or
rational side. A craftsman learns
techniques and how to use particular tools to develop or create something. Once the creation is complete, there is
little doubt of what it is. In coaching,
there are certain structures that the coach brings to the coaching conversation. The coach brings order, direction, and
momentum as well as some level of analysis to his or her relationship with the
person being coached. Perhaps this is
why coaches often talk about adding a skill to their “tool box.”

An art begins in the intuitive and creative right
brain. The artist draws on his or her “inner
eye” to make creative leaps and new connections. Because an object of art—no matter what the
medium—is the result of the artist’s personal vision, the completed work often
solicits the question, “Exactly what is that?”
In coaching, there is a place for playfulness and creativity. The coach challenges the client to see things
with fresh eyes, with a new perspective, or in a different way in order to create
a vision for his or her life.
Story-telling is an art, and the coach’s greatest contribution to the coaching
conversation may be in helping the client to “tell the story” of his or her
life, putting the pieces together in ways that the client has never done in the
past.

Is coaching an art or a craft? Of course, the answer is, “It is both.” Both come together as the coach helps a
person identify the vision he or she wants to pursue and then take the steps to
achieve it. Although a person may have
certain innate gifts that will facilitate the coaching conversation, the professional
coach will want to learn more. Art and
craft go together.

No comments:

About Me

I consider myself an itinerant educator. My time is spent in encouraging and equipping ministers through my work with the Central Baptist Seminary and Pinnacle Leadership Associates. I also do volunteer work with my church in the area of leader development. Other time is devoted to reading, writing, traveling, and spending time with grandchildren and my wife, Rita.